Scouts continue to encounter variability in fields as they wrap up the final day of the 2013 Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour.

Variability is still the norm for corn yields on the 2013 Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour, as scouts make their way through Iowa and into Minnesota on the final day of the Tour.

"We’ve been pretty much all over the board in terms of corn yield—a really low one two samples ago and then followed that up with our biggest one so far this morning. It’s kind of been hit-and-miss out here," said Brian Grete, Pro Farmer senior market analyst, reporting from Iowa.

Grete said that each stop along the route has brought its own surprises.

"It's just a situation of, wherever we randomly stop, what that field happens to be like. There's a lot of holes out there but there's also some good stuff as well. It's highly variable through this area," he said.

Heavy rains rolled through Iowa this morning, and according to Accuweather, some areas received up to 5 inches. Grete said that should help crops in the area, especially the soybean crop, which could use some help filling out pods.

"I'm absolutely soaked right now. Good for the crops, not good for me," Grete said. "But we did have real good rains this morning through northeast Iowa. It's muddy out in the fields. I don't know the rainfall totals, but it was quite an amount based on what the field conditions are like."

Listen to a full midday audio report from AgriTalk:

Empty Fields in Minnesota

Scouts on the Western leg of the Tour were a little bit drier this morning as they traveled through southern Minnesota, but the effects of a late planting season were quickly becoming apparent.

"We're looking at a corn crop that was really pretty good over in the southwest part of the state, and as we've made our way over to the south-central part, the corn yield is starting to lose some traction," said Pro Farmer editor Chip Flory. "The maturity is going downhill. We're looking at a very late-developing corn crop."

Flory added that some fields were still in pollination stage.

"And the other thing: Right now, I'm standing here looking at a bare field," Flory said. "Lots of prevent planted up here in Faribault County, and it's only going to get worse as we make our way east."

Soybeans in the area weren't great, but they weren't bad, either. In terms of pod counts, Flory said most fields he had sampled so far were still under 1,000 pods in a 3' by 3' area.

"I am impressed with the amount of fill we've got on the beans up in Minnesota," Flory said. "But up here, they've got to get going a little bit earlier and get that pod filling done to make any beans at all. So we do have good pod fill, but we just don't have the number of pods on these plants that we really need to see to build up big yields."

The Eastern and Western crews will meet up in Rochester, Minn., later today to review the final numbers.